The Taínos, a subgroup of the Arawakan Indians (a group of American Indians from northern South America), inhabited the island they called Boriken, present day Puerto Rico. Other indigenous groups migrated to the island from Mesoamerica, particularly the Yucatan region of Mexico. These indigenous groups arrived in migratory waves, each contributing to the development of Taino society and culture. The development of the Taino culture is strongly associated with theOstionoid Period; which developed in Puerto Rico from the Saladoid and Huecoid culture around AD600 and then spread westward to Hayti -Kiskeya and Cuba.

The first indigenous groups from South America possibly arrived in the southeast region of Puerto Rico from the Guayanes region in present-day Venezuela and the Sierra de Nevada - Santa Martaregion in northern Colombia. Here they found fertile alluvial filled valleys; capable of sustaining a dense population. The surrounding mountains were densely forested and rich in wildlife. The many rivers and streams served as transport waterways,. These water bodies were excellent fishing grounds, as well. The seacoast was teeming with marine life. Those groups that settled in what is today the municipalities of Yabucoa, Maunabo, called the region Guayaney, reminiscent of Guayana, their South American homeland. They named their main river Guayanes, another transplanted toponymy from South America.

In Guayaney the Arawak began to form families and inkayekes (settlements). As the community and culture evolved, the Arawakan began constructing ceremonial plazas, which they called batey, where they danced areitos and played the batu (ball game similar to soccer). The batey's boundaries were marked by upright stone dolmens on which they carved mythological figures. These undeciphered rock engravings (also known aspetroglyphs), form part of the complex Taino religious cosmology.

The Taino language developed from the Maipurean language of South America; which was diffused throughout the rest of Greater Antilles. Some of the words used by the Tainos such as barbacoa (barbecue), hamaca (hammock), canoa (canoe), tabaco (tobacco), yuca (yucca), and Huracan(hurricane) have been incorporated into the Spanish and English languages.

Taíno society was divided into three classes: naborias (commoners), nitaínos (nobles), and bohiques (healers). These were governed by chiefs known as caciques (who were either male or female) which were advised by the bohiques. Taínos lived in a matrilineal society. When a male heir was not present the inheritance or succession would go to the eldest child (son or daughter) of the deceased’s sister.

Pre-Columbian Taíno Community LayoutThe Taínos built their settlements or inkayeke (aslo known as a yucayeque) near bodies of water (rivers, streams and creeks). The typical village of the Taíno contained a flat ceremonial plaza or batey in the center of the village with bohios (dwellings) surrounding it. The average villages contained an estimated one to two thousand people. The regular houses had a circular shaped figure with poles providing its primary support. They had dirt floor and roofed with woven straw and palm leaves fromthe Yarey palm tree. The furnishing included: hamaka (hammock), turey (seat made of wood or stone), and petates (straw sitting mats).

A typical Taíno settlement spatial layout would include the following:

Bohios: Dwellings place of the people or working class known as the naborias.

Caney: The cacikes dwelling place.

Batey: Ceremonial Plaza where they danced areitos and played batu (ball game).

Barbacoa: A four legged stand, made of sticks, used in the cooking process of roasting meat. It had other uses as well: a village lookout tower, used in the konuko (farm) as a stand to chase away animals.

Barraka: Dwelling structure used by women during their menstruation. The barraka was also a shelter built partly below ground that offered protection during hurricane season.

Konuko (Taino Farm): The Taino konuco system of agricultural production was well suited to the island’s climate and topography. The Taínos preferred flat areas with well drained soils. They built montones or mounds on which they would plant their crops. This system had the advantage of providing the plants roots with aeration. The montones also prevented roots from rotting by being on higher ground. Their main crop was not yucca but yautia, at least in the eastern region of Boriken. The yautia plant is highly nutritious. The yucca was used mainly for making casabe or yucca bread. They also planted corn (maisi), beans, aje (peppers), cotton (sarobey), peanuts, calabaza (squash) and tobacco, among others crops.

One of the principal Taino settlements in Guayaney was located in the confluence of two rivers (Guayanes River and Limones Rivers) in Yabucoa. Naguake community was built adjacent to this pre-columbian Taino settlement or inkayeke. Naguake is the very embodiment of Taino continuity. It is the only community in Puerto Rico with an indigenous cultural base. The community members (known as "Nagukeños”) trace (genetically) their indigenous origins to South and Meso America.

In this Internet site you will be acquainted with our community, our people, our success, our challenges, and our struggles for justice and community well-being.

Build (on AAFET premises) a community that uses our ancestral culture, traditions and customs as the guiding force for social cultural and economic change. Reconnect communities with their cultural heritage and values.

Recreate a Taino inkayeke (village) for educational, cultural and touristic purposes. This includes ceremonial plazas or bateys (circular and rectangular), bohios and caneys.

Create school-community programs for healing and restoring both humans and the environment; both have become contaminated by misguided, destructive and lucrative progress.

Use traditional indigenous knowledge; which teaches us to be good stewards of our land and caretaker of all living things. Serve as an after school cultural and educational enrichment experience for youth.

Create a community farm based on indigenous farming methods, with community-school participation; that can serve as a model for other communities in the region.

Achieve community self-sufficiency, particularly in agricultural products and food security; in the event of a mayor natural or human-made disaster.

Use volunteer work to instill cooperative values, fellowship, traditional knowledge, environmental and social ethics, and camaraderie among participants.

Share AAFET facilities for cultural and educational purposes, for the benefit of Naguake Community and AAFET vocational students.

Naguake Community Batey is a place for social and family interactions. In essence, the batey was originally designed to become the meeting places for the community. In addition, the community batey became the center for numerous social, educational, and cultural events, including fairs, workshops, and community tourism. The significance of the Naguake Community Center (bateys and farm) is that it transformed a field of tall grasses and swamp into a culturally significant landscape, with strong community participation; which offered community members the opportunity to become decision makers, and in the process improve their economic, social, cultural, and environmental conditions. Naguake Community farm and bateys attracted community members of all ages, providing a place for young people to work with and learn in a “hands on” way. In Naguake they not only experienced the culture, they became part of the cultural revival of the community. In the process it empowered community members; which in turn made them more active in community improvement and activism.La Importancia del Batey y Finca ComunitariaEl Centro Comunitario Indígena de Naguake es un lugar creado con el propósito de mejorar la interacción social y familiar de la comunidad. En esencia, el centro estaba, originalmente, diseñado para servir como punto de encuentro para la comunidad. El batey comunitario, particularmente, funciona como el eje cultural y social de Nagauke.

Community Ownership and EmpowermentNaguake Community is composed of groups of people that live in different communities in the east-central region of Boriken (Puerto Rico), who claim an indigenous cultural heritage based on genetics, oral histories, traditions, customs, and identity. Although the communities are not contiguous, they share common interests, concerns for improving our community’s’ sociocultural, economic and natural environments.

In the case of Naguake Community, empowerment is more than the involvement, participation or engagement of the different communities. It implies community ownership and action (anikita) that explicitly aims at social, cultural, and political change. Naguake, as an indigenous based community, is entering in a process of re-negotiating power in order to gain more control over our resources, land, culture, heritage, economy and our lives. In the process our communities will become more self-sufficient and sustainable.

One of the most important factors in achieving community improvement is to gain control over the factors and decisions that shape our lives. We cannot "be empowered" by others; we can only empower ourselves.